Current testing methods are flawed and unreliable—but scientists are looking for a solution

Prostate cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer in American men, but it is also one of the most commonly misdiagnosed. The PSA, or prostate-specific antigen, is the current method of detecting prostate cancer—but has its faults.

“There are two main concerns about PSA screenings,” says William Catalona, Ph.D., Medical Director of the Urological Research Foundation and developer of the PSA screening exam. “One of them is that there are many false positives that lead to unnecessary biopsies, and the second is that when men get biopsied for an elevated PSA, some of them have cancer detected that may not be life-threatening.”

Despite it’s inaccuracies, the PSA is currently one of the only methods of early prostate cancer detection, and has saved many lives. Researchers are currently developing alternative screenings that could replace or work in tandem with PSA to give you a more accurate assessment of your risk. Here are a few.

PSA Risk Count

An elevated PSA can be a result of inflammation in the prostate or sexual activity. The PSA Risk Count looks at your pattern of annual PSA scores. “I think the PSA Risk Count is going to save men from unnecessary biopsies and being diagnosed with harmless cancers,” Catalona says.

Pro-PSA and Prostate Health Index

“Pro-PSA is a form of PSA that detects the more aggressive cancers,” explains Catalona. When you plug the Pro-PSA results into a mathematical formula, the results are “more accurate than anything that is commercially available,” Catalona says. This test has already been approved in Europe and Australia, and is currently under review by the FDA.

PCA3

A test recently approved by the FDA, named the Progensa PCA3, detects the PCA3 gene—a gene linked to prostate cancer—in urine. Using this urine test in conjunction with PSA data could help accurately detect cancer.

A Sarcosine-Detecting Chip

Scientists at the University of Parma in Italy have developed a chip that can detect sarcosine, a suspected marker of an aggressive form of prostate cancer found in urine.